Aren't You The Firecracker
by nightssodivine
Summary: Elena escapes to college after a dramatic past. Her life has been anything but normal, the trauma of Mystic Falls still present with her. Could meeting Damon change her life or leave it crumbling even more? Rated M for language and explicit content. AU/AH
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.

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><p>My mind slowly became alert to the sun streaming through the blinds in the dorm room. I started to kick the duvet away from me, sighing heavily. My head was pounding and nausea was sweeping over me in even the tiniest of movements, it increased when I finally opened my eyes. I saw black blobs float across my vision from the intense sunlight.<p>

I'd been stupid enough to agree to go clubbing last night with my roommate, trying to get some "bonding time" as she called it, before semester started. I liked Caroline, despite being a slight narcotic, she was nice. She'd managed to persuade me into a drink, which turned into two drinks, three drinks… after that, everything was just a blur of lights, muffled sounds and bodies bumping and grinding into me. There was the vague memory in my head of slapping a boy away from me, throwing profanities at him.

I heard Caroline start to grunt, looking over at she was rubbing her eyes, whimpering about regretting drinking that much.

"Remind me why we went out last night and drank that much?" Caroline asked.

I couldn't help but laugh, climbing out of bed. My laugh was hoarse, a slight burning to the back of my throat.

"I don't know, it was your idea."

"Oh right… what's the time?" Caroline sat up in bed, yawning whilst stretching all her limbs out.

I grabbed my phone, unlocking it. My eyes widened in shock. I'd missed my alarm, shit! First day and I'm late… great start.

"Oh crap, Caroline! We overslept, come on, we need to go." I made my way over to her bed, dragging her out. She stumbled as her feet hit the floor, clamping her hand over her mouth, looking like she was going to be sick.. I pushed her into the bathroom just as I heard the tell tale signs of a bad hangover.

Grabbing a pair of dark wash jeans and white tank top that lay on the floor my side of the room, I got dressed more quickly than normal so I'd have an extra minute to apply mascara and bundle my hair up.

"Do I have time to shower?" I heard Caroline call, with a slight echo to her voice.

"No, Caroline! Did you not hear me? We're late. It's our first day and we are late."

I saw her head pop out the side of the bathroom, raising an eyebrow, whilst I put on a pair of black heels, right now I didn't have time to rifle through my unpacked pile of shoes for a more appropriate pair.

"Jeez, take a chill pill, Elena."

I glared in her direction, grabbing a dress strewn at the end of her bed and threw it at her. It landed on her head, in a comical style. I got such a look from Caroline, I couldn't help but laugh.

5 minutes later, we were both dressed, teeth brushed and making our way to our first lecture. Running in heels with a hangover made it slightly harder than usual. We shuffled into the lecture hall, heads hung low.  
>The professor raised an eyebrow at us.<p>

"Nice to have you join us, ladies."

I sat down in a seat at the very back, Caroline following suit. I placed my elbow on the desk, resting my chin in my palm, trying to pay attention. I didn't have my laptop with me so couldn't take any notes but listening was better than nothing, right? It's not like we were going to have a test tomorrow, it was only the first lesson.

I'd come to this college to study history, luckily being granted with a roommate on the same course. I'd have to introduce myself to a few people on the course, to catch up with anything I'd missed.

Within 15 minutes, the lecture had ended. Whilst everyone packed their things up, I stayed behind, wanting to talk to my professor. Caroline went ahead, talking to some guy she'd just met walking down the steps. I was starting to think this might become a new habit of Caroline's. As long as she didn't bring guys back to the dorm, I wasn't gonna say anything.

Might as well try to make a good second impression on my new teacher. I walked down the many steps, lingering beside the desk. The professor looked pretty young, like he was just fresh out of college. From what I could see whilst he shuffled a set of papers on his desk together, his brown hair had been styled, rather than been naturally messy. I don't think he was aware of my presence, so I coughed politely to attract his attention.

The professor looked up from his papers, muttering a sorry. I finally caught a glimpse of his face, dark heavy eyebrows above deep brown eyes. He had a moment of confusion cross his face before composing himself.

"Is there something you need?"

"I was just wondering if there was anything I needed to catch up on?"

"Ah, you're the one that arrived late, am I correct?" he asked, a slight disapprove in his voice.

"Yeah, sorry about that-"

He cut me off, putting his hands in the air. "Look, you're in your first year, you're going to get drunk and get hungover. Just don't make a thing of it."

I bit my lip, feeling a pang of guilt.. At least he didn't make a big thing of it, maybe he really was only fresh out of college?

"Thanks, I suppose. So, about the work?"

"It's the first day, it's pretty much an introduction. Don't sweat it, just be on time tomorrow."

I nodded my head, turning to leave. As I was at the door, I turned round. He'd pulled out a pen and began marking something, or jotting down future notes for classes. His eyebrows had pulled together slightly with dedicated concentration.

"What's your name professor?"

"Salvatore."

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><p>Caroline plopped down on her bed, talking about the guy she'd just met in detail.<br>I was rubbing my temples, resisting the urge to sleep off the rest of the day. Her voice was getting increasingly louder, lights flashing in my vision.

"Oh shit." I grumbled, laying down on the bed as quick as possible. Great. A hangover and a migraine? Was someone up there trying to send me some kind of message? I shut my eyes tightly, an orange glow behind my eyes.

"Caroline, close the blinds."

"…They are closed, Elena."

"Ugh. Typical."

I could just imagine her pulling a face, now _that _would be typical. I'd only known the girl 2 weeks and knew every facial expression in the book of Caroline.

"What's wrong?" She asked, in confusion. I suppose from her point of view, I was just this mumbling wreck complaining about the blinds.

"Migraine."

"Oh, I knew someone back in my home town who got those!"

"Caroline! Noise. Keep it down."

"Oops, shit. Sorry Elena," Caroline whispered.

Time started to fly by before I knew it. Caroline had whispered that she was going out and would be back later, leaving me with as much silence you could get in a dorm room surrounded by noisy college students. I'd put on my trusty 'migraine mask' to block out the light. It was a black out eye mask, totally perfect for these situations.

I started to reflect back on home life, until it started to get too much for me, starting to feel like I was going to end up in hysterics if I thought of Jeremy any further. My blood pressure had increased, a _thump thump thump _in my left temple.

Eventually I must have fallen asleep, waking up in natural darkness, rather than artificial. Caroline unlocked the door, giggling in a hushed voice. There was another voice, this one deep. I didn't recognise it. She wasn't seriously bringing a guy back already?

"Shhh, she'll hear you," Caroline slurred.

Oh she is so in trouble.

"She'll hear you if you decide to scream… which you will," the other voice said.

There was a few 'oooofts' as the pair landed on the bed. I'll give them till 3… that's reasonable enough.

_1…  
><em>  
>Caroline let another giggle pass her lips.<p>

_2…_

"Don't stop," she whispered huskily.

_3…_

I reached across to the bedside lamp, flicking it on. I sat up in the process, raising an eyebrow in preparation.

"Oh god!" Caroline shrieked, pushing the man on top of her body to her side. The man laughed, a deep rumble coming from his chest. I saw her try and pull her dress back down, which had at this point been around her neckline.

"Shit, shit, shit. Elena, I'm sorry."

"I think _you_should go," I directed at the man beside her. He had hair as dark as a ravens feather, falling around his eyes. I noted that his face was defined, the most interesting feature being his ice blue eyes. Bet that was what pulled Caroline in.

He raised his eyebrows in response, smirking.

"Or maybe _you_ should go?"

"Excuse me?"

"I said, maybe you should go."

I strode across the room, arms crossed. What a freaking ass. Where does he get off saying something like that?

"Oh I heard that part."

Caroline stood up, trying to put distance between me and the guy with her arms. Her dress was creased heavily, bra straps lingering down the sides of her arms. What a classy guy.

"Elena, please don't do this," Caroline whined.

"Caroline, you bring a guy home like that on the first night of school and I'm allowed to be like this. Now _you_-" I poked the guy in the chest, causing no reaction or flinch. "Need to go."

The guy began to smirk even more, eyes twinkling.

"Well aren't you the firecracker."

Caroline huffed. "Maybe you should go, Damon."

I smirked myself. "Well then, _Damon,_ I think you've outstayed your visit. Bye now."  
>I waved at him, pointing to the door.<p>

His eyes twinkled once more, whispering something in Caroline's ear. I only picked up on "next time" from the conversation. Better damn hope he's not getting a next time.

I followed him walking to the door, shutting it loudly behind him, probably hitting his ass on the way out. What an appropriate leaving.

Turning around, I crossed my arms again.

"That guys an ass. You seriously were going to sleep with him?"

"I thought you might be out!"

"'fraid not."

"Look, I'm sorry!"

Caroline's eyes widened, grabbing her mouth like this morning. She'd been drinking again then. Great.

She made a run for the bathroom, heaving over the toilet. I followed her in, grabbing her hair from around her face while she violently threw up.

"You gotta stop drinking so much, Caroline."

She groaned out something in reply through being sick at me, although nothing she said was understandable to the human race.

"Okay, maybe he was a dick," she said coherently.

I chuckled at her. "Glad you agree."

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><p><strong>Hi guys! This came to mind one evening, thinking I should try out an all human story. Hope you enjoyed the introduction to it all! Be nice and review :)<strong>

Probably a bit generic with the whole college theme but I have my own crazy dramatic twist to this! (Would it be anything without that, haha?)

**I thought I should clear up bits of the story before continuing:**

**- It's a Delena story, so don't panic! Damon's just a bit of an ass but isn't he always?**  
><strong>- Damon and Stefan are brothers in this; Stefan is about 10ish years older than him, so the roles are reversed.<strong>  
><strong>- I can't explain too much on the JeremyElena front just yet, so you'll have to wait to know about that and keep reading ;)**  
><strong>- Not sure if Bonnie will make her way into this story, if you guys would like her included though, she can be added in.<strong>  
><strong>Most of the other characters however will appear in this story. By most, I mean the mainssort of mains.**

**I think that's about it. New 'The Coldest Heart' chapter to come out later this week for those following it :)**  
><strong>Hope you all had a lovely weekend and stay safe!<strong>  
><strong>nightssodivine x<strong>

**P.S I'm from England, so I do apologise in advance if I've got any terminology wrong here. USA readers, if you have time to help me out with certain phrases that are used about college, I'd love you forever.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

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><p>"Elena," Caroline grumbled from under the duvet. "It's too early."<p>

I'd woken up earlier today to get dressed and ready without the stress of rushing, to only find Caroline still under the covers after I emerged from the bathroom. I thought with having so much extra time, we could catch some breakfast first then head off to class. By the time we'd get to the lecture hall, we'd still be early, even with breakfast. Better to show that I'm trying to make an effort.

"Caroline, you can't be late again."

"But I feel like crap," she groaned in a tone a child would use with their mother. Maybe that's just how I'd have to act to get her out of damn bed.

"That's your own fault," I said in a tone of disapproval.

"Can't you just go take notes for me?"

"Caroline! Get out of bed this instance!" I stamped my foot on the floor for extra effect, she wasn't going to get away this easily. Before she'd know it she'd be missing classes every day and get kicked out of college.

"Elena," she dawdled out my name.

"Out. Now."

Caroline whined once more before dragging herself out of bed. She was still wearing her clothes from yesterday, having been too ill to get unchanged. I like Caroline but not enough to help her get undressed whilst puking. That was just too much.

I took a dress from her closet, passing it to her.

"Caroline, if you get dressed, I'll buy you breakfast."

"And coffee?" Caroline's eyes lit up at the prospect. You only had to mention alcohol or coffee to her and she perked up straight away.

"And coffee."

"Agreed."

I'd never seen her get dressed so quickly with a hangover, let alone perfectly apply make up without smudging it across all her face by accident. It was done in record time.

"Well that was quick," I said with a raised eyebrow at her as she slipped on some heels. They must have been about 6 inches high, Caroline was tall enough as it was, she was just going to tower over everyone.

"Can you even walk in those Caroline?"

"Shh. Now you promised me coffee, so lets go."

I rolled my eyes, following her out of the dorm room. There was a café we'd gone to when we'd first met to get to know each other better, it'd become our 'go to' place now. It was only 5 minutes away from campus with seats and tables outside, so we could sit in the morning sunshine and chat.

We sat down in a pair of wicker chairs, ordering pancakes and coffee. Caroline cradles the cup in her hands, making humming noises.

"You're enjoying that far too much, Caroline."

"You clearly do not know the pleasure coffee can bring to people hungover."

I laughed, taking a sip of the coffee.

"Okay, I admit, that's good. You could do with an IV of coffee hooked up to you, however."

Caroline made a 'psssht' noise, sticking her tongue out. I watched as she took a bite of her pancakes, mumbling "oh shit."

"Mmm? What's wrong?" I asked, slightly confused. It was as if she had seen a ghost, loosing colour from her face.

She swallowed her mouthful, poking a finger discreetly in the direction of behind me. I turned my head as inconspicuously as possible, eyes flashing as I saw Damon approach us. I groaned looking back at Caroline, mumbling swear words under my breath.

I saw his figure come into the corner of my eye and a hand pulling out the spare chair at our table. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed at him.

He smirked, eyebrows waggling. "What a lovely welcome."

"Seriously, what do you think you're doing?"

"About to eat. Why not join you _lovely _ladies whilst I'm at it?"

I gave Caroline a look, urging her to speak to him. She had after all nearly hopped into bed with him last night. She shook her head in a no action.

"Well you're not welcome here."

He grabbed my plate, picking apart one of the pancakes going to pop a piece in his mouth. I slapped his hand away, the piece of pancake falling on the table. He pouted at me, a small snigger coming from Caroline. Who did this guy think he was? Presumably thought he was gods gift to women.

"So what are you both studying?" He asked casually, leaning back in his hair, hands around the back of his neck.

"We're both studying history. And you?" Caroline replied. It surprised me how quickly Caroline was about to have a one night stand without even knowing what the other person was even at the college for.

"I'm on a football scholarship," he stated in a smug tone.

"What a surprise," I said in a sarcastic tone. So he was_ that_guy. The womanizer ass doing football.

"Are you in your second year then?" Caroline asked, seemingly interested in him. She'd gone off into a daze, eyeing him up.

"Yup," he said popping the p. "You're first years, aren't you?"

"Yeah but I'm totally more mature than I look."

As I watched the conversation unravel, I saw Damon's expression turn to one of amusement. I zoned out as the rest of their conversation continued, picking at the pancakes, loosing my appetite after his arrival. I took one last sip of coffee before getting up from my seat.

"Caroline, we need to get to class."

She frowned at me, disappointed clearly her time with Damon was ending. I decided I may just not go back to the dorm room tonight, by the looks of how they were getting on. If they got it out of their system, maybe then I wouldn't have to deal with his presence. He reminded me too much of guys back home, the ones that just wanted sex. I'd had those relationships and then Jeremy happened… now I didn't want any kind of relationship whatsoever. Every guy I went near always ended breaking a part of me somehow. Caroline hadn't gone through the trauma I had, so it's understandable she wouldn't have anything holding her back when it came to guys.

Caroline grabbed her bag, kissing Damon on the cheek, whispering something in his ear with a naughty smile. He grinned in reply, staying in his seat.

I'd started off in the direction back to campus, hearing the clatter of Caroline's shoes catch up to me. Once a distance away from Damon, I couldn't help but give her a mini speech about guys like that. Caroline groaned the entire way through, warning me that she wasn't stupid and knew that all the warnings already and she didn't need a mini mum at college.

We arrived to the lecture hall 10 minutes early, giving a polite smile to Professor Salvatore. Caroline made her way to the back of class whilst I followed, setting up my laptop.  
>Caroline returned to the conversation of Damon, telling me about vague details that would mean nothing to me. I heard the word Salvatore crop up, my attention being alerted rather than on pilot mode.<p>

"Did you just say Salvatore?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah – he said his name was Damon Salvatore. Apparently it's Italian."

"Our professor's name is Salvatore. Do you think it's a coincidence?"

"I remember him saying something about a brother but I was drunk…"

Hmm. was it a possibility? There wasn't anything appearance wise that made them look like brothers, even more so why would you go somewhere your brother teaches in the first place? It's the last place you'd want to be.

While mulling over it for the first part of the lesson, the second part I began to crack down and start writing notes. Caroline kept checking her phone every few minutes, saying she was waiting for a text from Damon. She was already being pulled into his games, it'd only end in tears and it wouldn't be him crying.

I knew I'd have to be taking twice as many notes, especially with Caroline's concentration on something else. We parted our separate ways for the rest of the day, Caroline off back to the dorm for some "well needed sleep."

I needed to buy some groceries, so headed off into town. I headed into the organic isle before anything else, getting fruit and veg into my cart. As I wheeled the cart around an isle, another cart hit into mine. I couldn't help but exclaim a "shit!" out of being scared. It's not like it hadn't happened before,

I looked up to see who'd crashed into me, to be surprised with Damon. Was I ever going to get rid of him?

"Dude, are you stalking me?"

He raised an eyebrow, "now why would I do that?" He moved his cart to the side, closing the distance between us. "Do you want me to?"

"Screw you," I pushed at him to get away from me. He stayed in his place, looking down at me. It enough to make me feel uncomfortable enough to try and make the distance myself from him. He crossed his arms, his leather jacket making a noise as the material moved against each other.

I looked in his cart, to only see alcohol. There must have been at least 10 six packs. He was living up to all the expectations I had of him. He must of seen me looking, as he broke the silence by speaking.

"You're invited."

"Sorry, what?"

"You and that blonde friend of yours, you're invited to the party tonight."

Did he not even know Caroline's name?

"'Blonde friend'? She does have a name you know, or have you already forgotten that?"

"Begins with a C, if I remember correctly."

"You're truly despicable."

"Bringing out the big words, Elena?"

I snapped my head in his direction, frowning.

"You remember my name and not hers? You need to get your priorities right."

He shook his head laughing, taking a piece of paper out of his pocket, scribbling down something and passing it to me.

"You should come," he said in a sing song voice, pushing his cart away.

"Yeah right," I muttered under my breath, putting the piece of paper in the cart carelessly. Last thing I wanted to be around was Damon Salvatore and his pigheadedness. I shivered thinking about the situation, continuing to mutter throughout my grocery shopping.

I placed the grocery bags on the kitchen in our dorm whilst Caroline nibbled on a stick of celery.

"So what did he say? Anything about me?" She'd started interrogating me as soon as I'd walked in the door and said I'd ran into him.

"No, he didn't."

"Oh." Her face fell, eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. She was crushing on him too hard.

"There's some stupid party he invited you and me to though."

"Oh!" Caroline's face perked up immediately, a grin on her face. "We should go."

"_You _can go, however I will not be. I'm staying as far away from him and his friends as possible."

"Oh come on, Elena," she whined, putting her hands on her hips. She had a small pout on her, giving me the look that meant 'you're going if you like it or not.' Great, just great…

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><p><strong><strong>

**Just a 'getting into it' chapter really. Party will be in the next chapter, which means things shall ensue! Just want to reassure everyone as well that it's not a Daroline (is that what they're calling it?) fanfiction.**

**Also will be revealing the past with Jeremy over the next few chapters, it'll certainly be an interesting surprise ;)**

**Would be lovely to hear you guys' opinion on the story, so feel free to review! Stay safe and have a lovely rest of the weekend.**  
><strong>nightssodivine x<strong>


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